Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research

Original Research Article | OPEN ACCESS

Impact of co-administration of red palm oil (Elaeis guineensis arecaceae) and rooibos (Aspalathus linearis fabaceae) on glycaemic parameters, liver function and key glycolytic enzymes in diabetic rats

Ademola O Ayeleso¹ , Oluwafemi O Oguntibeju¹, Nicole L Brooks²

¹Oxidative Stress Research Centre, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Wellness Sciences, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Bellville; ²Department of Wellness Sciences, Faculty of Health and Wellness Sciences, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Town, South Africa.

For correspondence:- Ademola Ayeleso Email: ademola.ayeleso@gmail.com Tel:+27840171248

Received: 26 December 2014 Accepted: 27 July 2015 Published: 29 September 2015

Citation: Ayeleso AO, Oguntibeju OO, Brooks NL. Impact of co-administration of red palm oil (Elaeis guineensis arecaceae) and rooibos (Aspalathus linearis fabaceae) on glycaemic parameters, liver function and key glycolytic enzymes in diabetic rats. Trop J Pharm Res 2015; 14(9):1613-1619 doi: 10.4314/tjpr.v14i9.10

© 2015 The authors.
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Abstract

Purpose: To investigate the anti-diabetic effects of red palm oil (RPO), rooibos tea extract (RTE) and their combination (RPO + RTE).

Methods: Diabetes was induced by a single administration of streptozotocin (50 mg/kg) and the rats were treated for 49 days. The effects of these plant products on plasma glucose, serum insulin, serum fructosamine, glycosylated haemoglobin (HbIAC), liver enzymes in serum and liver glycolytic enzymes were studied using standard techniques.

Results: The combined treatment of RPO and RTE significantly (p < 0.05) decreased the glucose (20.98 ± 6.46 mmol/L to 15.60 ± 5.94 mmol/L), HbIAC (16.74 ± 2.73 % to 12.41 ± 2.25 %), fructosamine (98.61 ± 23.35 mmol/L to 62.52 ± 28.41 mmol/L) levels and increased insulin (0.30 ± 0.09 ng/mL to 0.72 ± 0.21 ng/mL) levels in the diabetic rats. Similarly, the combined treatment significantly (p < 0.05) reduced alanine aminotransferase (ALT) in the serum of diabetic rats. RPO + RTE significantly (p < 0.05) increased the activity of pyruvate kinase in the liver when compared with the diabetic control group.

Conclusion: Combined treatment with red palm oil and rooibos shows promising beneficial effects in diabetic conditions of rats. Further studies on the mechanism of actions of the plant products are required.

Keywords: Red palm oil, Rooibos, Glycaemic parameters, Liver function, Glycolytic enzymes, Diabetic rats